One day after being part of the Patriots’ initial 53 man roster, it appears Kendrick Bourne won’t be a part of this new era under new head coach, Mike Vrabel, after all.
Andrew Callahan of the Boston Herald reports that New England is releasing Bourne, which apparently comes on the heels of a failed trade attempt to Minnesota. Adam Schefter reports that Bourne requested to be released, and the team obviously granted that request.
Following Tuesday’s final roster cutdowns, the club ended up with a surprising 8 receivers as part of that group, with Bourne being a name that many didn’t expect to be there.
Regarding the trade, there were apparently some financial hurdles that stood in the way of a deal getting done, and it looks like the Vikings instead opted to bring back former Minnesota Vikings wideout, Adam Thielen.
That deal saw Minnesota agree with Carolina to acquire Thielen, with the Panthers parting with a 2026 fifth-round pick, along with a 2027 fourth-round selection. In return, the Vikings get Thielen as well as a conditional 2026 seventh-round pick and a 2027 fifth-round selection.
According to ESPN, Minnesota is also going to pay the remainder of Thielen’s $7 million salary for 2025.
Callahan also reports that New England did ask Bourne to take a pay cut, but the veteran reportedly declined. Bourne was in the second year of the three-year extension he signed back in March of 2024 that had been worth up to $33 million.
As for what the future holds for Bourne, ESPN’s Field Yates believes that given all their injuries, the 49ers could potentially be a landing spot for wideout, who missed the majority of camp with a foot injury but is believed to be healthy.
This now brings the current group of wideouts to 7 and also opens up a spot on the current Patriots roster.
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Ian Logue is a Seacoast native and owner and senior writer for PatsFans.com, an independent media site covering the New England Patriots and has been running this site in one form or another since 1997.
